20080525

what i would look like if all you knew was my spam folder

have you ever wondered what people would think about you if all they could see was your spam folder? think about that, if all we had was your spam folder what would we think about you?

ok, granted - i am bored. i am sitting in my fav cafe [la boca, in sacramento], watching soccer, while watching all the interactions of the people - and it got me thinking [right after i dumped over 1,500 emails from just one spam folder from one email account] what would people think of me if they simply read my spam folder? i mean, how would i come across? granted, i do not have much control of what comes via email into spam - but still, what would others think? if, 1,000 years from now, some futures indiana jones finds a copy of my spam folder, what would they write about me? here is what i think "future indy" would write about me:

"the subject sought to save hundreds of dollars on his car insurance, while seeking the best rates to finance and refinance his just purchased foreclosed home in the neighborhood of his dreams. He seemed to have done this while spending two free night in vegas, popping viagra and "natural male enhancement" pills he received via cheap canadian pharmacies, purchased with his free online credit card with a low introductory rate [while seeking to eliminate credit card debt]. It seems he spends his evening with special people he "hooked-up" with via the net, which he connected to using his free "powerful" laptop - all that between colon cleaning and weight loss. it is amazing that he found the time to receive his "cheap" online degrees in criminal justice, physiology and ministry, while striving to retire in three years."

if all people knew about you was what was in your span folder, what would you look like? what if people judged you via your spam folder? well, that seems unfair to ask, because in reality most of us do judge people by their "spam folder" - we judge people on what they look like, their past actions and the "spam" that fills their lives from others - we do it all the time - but, what if you knew what others thought of you - would that change your mind? being defined by our spam folders seems harsh, but so does judging people by what others have to say, or their past actions - hmmm, what does your spam folder say about you?

20080516

Reaction, not Proaction

i am always amazed at how we as a people who proclaim to follow Christ are more reactionary to issues. we tend to have knee jerk reactions to issues and then we apologize for the mistakes we make and the insults we bounce about - sure, we say it is because we are "human" but i think it goes deeper then that - i think we just do not care. let's be honest, many people in the church care only for their little part of the kingdom and they could careless about any other part.

I think we speak a good game, but when it comes time for the link to launch, we back down and run in the other direction - until the dust settles and then we shout from the rafters all the "evil" we see - never once saying, "well, if we only acted in a proactive way things would be better." bit i think this goes hand in hand with the fact that we are known more for what we are against, then what we are for - because we have become reactionary people.

not to long ago i brought this point to the attention of a gathering of pastors - that we are known for what we are against; that we are seen as a very negative people. one of the ministers after the conversation cane up to me and said, "i think we are known for being very positive." i said, "really? how? can you give one example" he thought for a moment and said, "sure, we are for marriage between a man and a women, because God is against gay marriages and we need to stand against them." i smiled and said, "and you see that as being 'positive?' it would have worked better if you would have left out the end part."

we react to problems in the world - what we need to do is look at the world around us, think in terms of love, grace and forgiveness and see how we can reach the world in a positive way - how can we be proactive?